Top-ranked UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov absolutely manhandled Michael Johnson at UFC 205, and the Dagestani fighter believes he’d do the same to two-division champ, Conor McGregor.
Nurmagomedov, who is undefeated after 24 fights, has battled with injury problems in the past but is still considered one of the most fearful fighters on the UFC roster. ‘The Eagle’ puts on a tireless pace and possesses some of the best grappling in the entire sport.
Nurmagomedov, a combat Sambo world champion, told ‘The Menace’ to give up whilst pummeling him on the ground at UFC 205 and says he would enjoy doing the same thing to ‘The Notorious’.
"I want to take him down, speak with him, slap him, make him nervous ... like, 'Hey, get up! Let's go! Where is your boxing?' ... play with him and make him give up. This is what I want,” Nurmagomedov told TMZ Sports in a recent interview.
"But I don't want to finish him 1st round, 2nd round, 3rd round ... I want to fight with him for 25 minutes like 5 rounds and I want to make him look very bad. And finish his hype."
McGregor became the promotion’s first simultaneous two-division champ (featherweight and lightweight) when he beat Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden. Similar to Nurmagomedov, McGregor dominated his opponent and looked to be in a league of his own.
After the fight, though, the Irishman said he’s only coming back if he becomes a part-owner of the UFC. Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, wants a lightweight title shot as soon as possible.
The 28-year-old threatened to leave the UFC if he didn’t get his wish but recently eased his stance and said he’s open to fight Tony Ferguson for a ‘temporary’ interim title.
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